- Joined:
- Sep 15, 2012
- Posts:
- 57,889
- Liked Posts:
- 37,867
Just some thoughts as I take stock this Bears team after 6 games.
Defense
1. The last defensive play of the game to me is important moving forward. It was the 6th pressure of the game for Quinn which led the Bears. He has started off slow dealing with an injury but is slowly starting to emerge from hibernation. If he gets close to where he was last year then this D can be very dangerous.
2. The other reason it was important is because the Bears were in Dime. Over the years the Bears have rarely played dime preferring 2 LBs on the field in most passing downs. However, DeAndre Houston Carr was in the game because the Bears went Dime removing DT from the field. This is important going forward because I think the Bears need to make DT a strictly run down LB. On obvious passing downs or downs with 3 or more WRs, the Bears may be better off rotating in the safeties in DT's 2nd LB spot. We have some depth there with DHC and Bush both capable of holding their own in the run game and offering more coverage ability than DT.
3. Goldman is surely missed but the unheralded depth on this team is flashing. 5 DL rotated at the 2 DL spots next to Hicks with Nichols, RRH, Edwards, Urban and Jenkins all getting at least 15 snaps and no one getting more than 20 except for Nichols. This hopefully allows them to play full speed each snap and prevents them from getting worn down in the run game as only Jenkins really has the size to be a NT.
4. Kyle Fuller is sending the league a message. His passer rating against is 7th in the NFL despite his preference playing off man and he is putting WRs on notice that if they enter his zone trying to make a catch, there will be repercussions. Those big hits are the kind of plays that have WRs short arming or not going all out to catch a pass and will pay dividends later even if the refs haven't caught up to Fuller's brand of violent but clean football.
5. The rest of the secondary has had its ups and downs but this is a solid group. More importantly, as the pressure ramps up, there will be opportunities for these guys to make plays. They have been close a few times and the refs and Hicks (on the fumble) got in the way but these guys are getting ready to swarm if the Front 7 continues to play as they are.
Offense
1. Foles has not been great. However, he understands the offense, he understands what the defense is trying to do and generally you can count on him to diagnose things properly. Where he has struggled is in his accuracy and he takes unnecessary risks like that bone-headed interception after the D got the fumble. All and all though, he is clearly the best QB for the team right now as he is just better at running the offense even if he is more of a game manager right now.
2. I have been very critical of Kmet as he has done very little thus far but it is time for him to get on the field more. Harris is definitely a better blocker but the run game still sucks and will continue to suck so at this point you might as well play Kmet and let him develop. Any benefits Harris provides in the run game is basically wasted anyways because of the shitty OL blocking.
3. My god is this OL awful. Any good feelings from the beginning of the year was clearly the result of this OL taking advantage of 3 awful defenses. These guys couldn't block my grandmother's bridge partners at the old folks him. I was crapping on the lack of improvement of the OL all offseason and the concern that Castillo could not fix it all by himself and after initially eating a bit of crow to start the season, I am now ready to spit it out and piss on it. No one on this line is playing particularly well at the moment.
4. Mooney is the real deal but we should have drafted another WR. Miller is just too inconsistent and ARob is in his final year. More importantly, we don't really have any WRs with good YAC ability. Pretty much everything is catch the ball get a yard or two and fall to the ground. We really are missing a dynamic WR that can take the short passes this O is predicated on and turn it into YAC. Quite frankly I would not pay ARob 18-20 million and I would use that money and draft picks to get more YAC guys. That is the only way this offense is going to work and I have no idea why Nagy thought he could run the KC offense without them.
Defense
1. The last defensive play of the game to me is important moving forward. It was the 6th pressure of the game for Quinn which led the Bears. He has started off slow dealing with an injury but is slowly starting to emerge from hibernation. If he gets close to where he was last year then this D can be very dangerous.
2. The other reason it was important is because the Bears were in Dime. Over the years the Bears have rarely played dime preferring 2 LBs on the field in most passing downs. However, DeAndre Houston Carr was in the game because the Bears went Dime removing DT from the field. This is important going forward because I think the Bears need to make DT a strictly run down LB. On obvious passing downs or downs with 3 or more WRs, the Bears may be better off rotating in the safeties in DT's 2nd LB spot. We have some depth there with DHC and Bush both capable of holding their own in the run game and offering more coverage ability than DT.
3. Goldman is surely missed but the unheralded depth on this team is flashing. 5 DL rotated at the 2 DL spots next to Hicks with Nichols, RRH, Edwards, Urban and Jenkins all getting at least 15 snaps and no one getting more than 20 except for Nichols. This hopefully allows them to play full speed each snap and prevents them from getting worn down in the run game as only Jenkins really has the size to be a NT.
4. Kyle Fuller is sending the league a message. His passer rating against is 7th in the NFL despite his preference playing off man and he is putting WRs on notice that if they enter his zone trying to make a catch, there will be repercussions. Those big hits are the kind of plays that have WRs short arming or not going all out to catch a pass and will pay dividends later even if the refs haven't caught up to Fuller's brand of violent but clean football.
5. The rest of the secondary has had its ups and downs but this is a solid group. More importantly, as the pressure ramps up, there will be opportunities for these guys to make plays. They have been close a few times and the refs and Hicks (on the fumble) got in the way but these guys are getting ready to swarm if the Front 7 continues to play as they are.
Offense
1. Foles has not been great. However, he understands the offense, he understands what the defense is trying to do and generally you can count on him to diagnose things properly. Where he has struggled is in his accuracy and he takes unnecessary risks like that bone-headed interception after the D got the fumble. All and all though, he is clearly the best QB for the team right now as he is just better at running the offense even if he is more of a game manager right now.
2. I have been very critical of Kmet as he has done very little thus far but it is time for him to get on the field more. Harris is definitely a better blocker but the run game still sucks and will continue to suck so at this point you might as well play Kmet and let him develop. Any benefits Harris provides in the run game is basically wasted anyways because of the shitty OL blocking.
3. My god is this OL awful. Any good feelings from the beginning of the year was clearly the result of this OL taking advantage of 3 awful defenses. These guys couldn't block my grandmother's bridge partners at the old folks him. I was crapping on the lack of improvement of the OL all offseason and the concern that Castillo could not fix it all by himself and after initially eating a bit of crow to start the season, I am now ready to spit it out and piss on it. No one on this line is playing particularly well at the moment.
4. Mooney is the real deal but we should have drafted another WR. Miller is just too inconsistent and ARob is in his final year. More importantly, we don't really have any WRs with good YAC ability. Pretty much everything is catch the ball get a yard or two and fall to the ground. We really are missing a dynamic WR that can take the short passes this O is predicated on and turn it into YAC. Quite frankly I would not pay ARob 18-20 million and I would use that money and draft picks to get more YAC guys. That is the only way this offense is going to work and I have no idea why Nagy thought he could run the KC offense without them.
Last edited:
